It is the JR Sport Re Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity. A sports network. Man, we've taken a look at so many teams. Just over the past several days in the NBA, who've improved and made trades. I don't think there's been a team that's done a better job improving their roster, elevating from just being a playoff contender to a championship contender than the Houston Rockets.
Of course, adding Kevin Durant, filling out some of the fringe engines, if you dare want to say that, by adding guys like Dorian Finney Smith and Clint Capella, re-signing some of the guys who are already on the team. They are an excellent mix of veterans and. Just superstars, especially if you take a look at Kevin Durant. To talk about these Rockets, how they got here, what we can expect going forward. Joining us right now is someone who covers the team for the Houston Chronicle.
It's Danielle Lerner. Danielle, how are you? I'm great. I'm a little tired, but happy to be here. I'm sure.
I know it's been a busy, busy time. We always knew that Kevin Durant was a possibility. for the Houston Rockets. But when it actually took place, this team is now going to a different place with different expectations. What is the fan response?
They everybody has to be chomping at the bit to see what they do next year. Absolutely. I mean, I think after they what they did last year, even though it was a disappointingly early finish, crashing out as the number two seed in the first round of the playoffs, there were already really heightened expectations just based on the leap. That they took from the prior season to that one with the same roster.
So you look at adding an elite scorer like Kevin Durant. To that mix, there was already going to be another leap taking place. And then now you saw after the Durant trade, that kind of incentivized the Rockets to get even more aggressive in their roster upgrades during free agency. You know, made a splashy pair of moves on day one yesterday. And now all of a sudden, it's looking like they are really, really title contenders.
Absolutely. Now, the the guys who exited out, Dylan Brooks, we certainly know he plays hard. Teams look at him as an irritant. And then you have Jalen Green, who we know started off in the in the G League, still young. Why didn't things connect with with Jalen?
It is it just the s the shot selection? Is he never going to break out of it? W what was the deal with him? I mean, I think that there definitely were consistent iss consistency issues over his first several years. And part of that was just the responsibility that he was given from such a young age.
Obviously, that's what comes with being drafted as the number two pick at the start of a rebuild. But He was just going through growing pains, and I think it was more obvious than it is for some players who might have. more experienced personnel around them at the start of their careers. I do think that he improved significantly in this past season, both offensively and defensively. Defensively, he really used to be a liability and he's not that anymore.
But yeah, I think the offensive issues Um it was a a little bit of Just streakiness. I don't think the shot selection itself was the problem. But in the playoffs, what happened was he was really able to be game planned out. Of the game. The Warriors just sent traps at him.
He didn't know how to deal with them. And I think that that's something that he is capable of improving upon later in his career. But, you know, it's going to take some work. And the Rockets at this point just felt like they were in win-now mode. And They didn't think that they could do it with him.
Daniel Lerner is here with us, covers the Rockets for the Houston Chronicle. If there's going to be one constant from last season to this season as things have changed, it's Ime Udoka. I mean, this is someone who was basically an NBA pariah after his issues uh wi with the Boston Celtics. And now all of a sudden he gets a contract extension. He's pretty much the stalwart to help turn things around.
What has he meant to the organization and whole? I mean, he's been a huge deal. He has been a major, major factor in this. And that's, you know, a reason that Rafael Stone and the Fertita family brought Yme in here to begin with, he's kind of a no BS. Very blunt kind of coach.
And he's really brought this culture of accountability to the Rockets. And that's something that. The young guys, the young core didn't really have in the first three years. Stephen Silas just had a very different approach. And also came in not expecting necessarily to have to deal with a rebuild situation.
So email kind of came in and said, look, like. I don't care who you are, what you've done in the past. If you're not playing well, I'm going to bench you. You know, if you don't play defense, I'm going to bench you. That was his modus operandi, and bringing in the complimentary veterans like Dylan Brooks, like Fred Famly, like Stephen Adams, like Jeff Green.
Who could kind of lead by example and show these young guys, like, hey, this is a good thing. That he's being so hard on you. I think that kind of helped get his message across. No, Danielle, you all the veterans you basically mentioned just ended up with new deals from Van Vliet, and you're bringing in Green for an additional year. They all got contracts.
Stephen Adams got an extension. And we know Kevin Durant, he's going to be on his way to the Houston Rockets. We know we have to wait for the new league year to start and what have you. Is it just a formality that he just gets two more years tacked on? I think so, but I'm interested to see at what price.
I think the Rockets, because they were a little bit more aggressive in free agency than they had intended to be, they're now hard capped the first apron for this year. That's not going to affect grant extension kicking in later but the long term deals that they've given some of these guys, you know, depends on those exact deal structures. But I think they they still have plenty of room to give Durant an extension. They have plenty of room to give Tari Yes and his rookie extension. It just, you know, they're going to maybe have to do some cap gymnastics to determine.
The best price for them. But what really paved the way for Durant to come to Houston in the first place was all those bets that I mentioned. Their new deals, they took pay cuts. Fred Van Vliet declined his option. knocked about nineteen, twenty million dollars off what the Rockets would have paid him this season to take a two year deal for fifty million instead.
Stephen Adams' extension is pretty team friendly and declines in value after this season.
So Danielle I think I think we may have lost uh Danielle. They botch her. Do we still have Danielle? She fall off?
Okay, well, we'll see what the deal is with Danielle. Try to get her back on. eight eight eight seven ten four I S N That's 888-710-48. 4ISN. And the cool thing before we lost Danielle about these Houston Rockets, it is the mix.
Like, we can take a look at all the veterans that they've added, and guys taking pay cuts, but the Houston Rockets still have some great young talent. Who I don't even think has, I think most of us would agree, they haven't reached their peak. Amen Thompson, God only knows what he is. I think he has all-star potential. Our Prince Sengoon has already been to an All-Star game.
He's a double-double guy. And how he continues to develop, he's only twenty two years old. That's TBD, that's to be determined, that's to be seen. And so this Houston Rockets team They just have a a a great mix. Uh Danielle, we got your back?
Yes, so sorry about that. Must be these Houston storms. Hey listen, I've been storming all over the place. I'm looking out the studio window here and it looks like uh Georgia got hit by uh God only knows what we have out here. But before you went.
You talked about these extensions to the vets and some of the contracts that they took saving some cash, but I had mentioned some of the younger guys, the Amen Thompsons of the world. Jabari Smith just got his. Alpren Sengoon. It's like these guys, they haven't even peaked as to what they're exactly going to be. And that also has to be good for the Rockets, not just for today or however long they have Durant, but into the future too.
Yeah, I mean, I think such a key part of the Durant trade was that the Rockets were able to keep the bulk of their young core intact. Yes, they gave up Jalen Green. Yes, they gave up a really great defender in Dylan Brooks, but you have Shangoon, who's coming off his first all-star season. You have a Men Thompson, who maybe has the most upside and is just the best athlete of anybody. on this Rockets roster, including their new additions.
And then you have guys like Tari Eason and Jabari Smith who kind of typify the philosophy that Yme Odoka wants. You know, they're those two way versatile players.
So I do think that, you know, being able to keep all of those guys is going to be really, really key. Wh when you go forward, You think about all the talent that they have, it just seems it seems too perfect, too good to be true. What do the Rockets still need help with? If they can plug a hole or fix one, is it adding another guard? Wh where can they get some help?
I don't think they necessarily need to add anything else to the roster. You know, they've got a roster crunch as it is at the moment. But I think You know, it's one thing to add all these guys who on paper can fix the scoring issues and the shooting issues. But I think it's going to be up to Eme Odoka and his coaching staff to kind of revamp their playbook and make sure that they can. put all of these guys in p positions to maximize Their skills.
You know, we need it's a different team now. They can't run the same plays that they were running last year. You know, obviously you can just give the ball to Kevin Durant and tell him to go hoop, but that's only going to get you so far.
So it's kind of finding ways, I think, to involve everybody and piece this team together. Modanielle, are we looking at a situation where it's championship or bust here from the fan base? Perhaps. I I think certainly in this this window In which they'll have Durant, you know, just it might not be this year, might be another couple years after that. But I would say that.
If They are not competing in the finals while Kevin Durant is a rocket, that's going to be seen as a failure. No, without a shadow of a doubt. He's also expressed a desire, I think we've heard publicly, to kind of finish his career up with the Houston Rockets and not put up another jersey, put on another jersey. What's worst case scenario? Because it seems that if things don't work with Durant, That they still have, they still have pieces to still grow.
So, is there a bad thing that could happen here outside of injury? Not really, I don't think. I think the the worst thing would be one of their young stars getting dissatisfied for some reason and trying to force their way out. But I really don't see that happening. I think they have a really good mesh of personalities here and everyone who's on the current roster Buys into what Emo Doka and Raphael Stone are selling, and they want to be in Houston.
Man, without a shadow of a doubt, this is looking real good. A lot of anticipation for the Houston Rockets this upcoming season. Danielle, thank you so much for the time. Please tell everybody where they can follow you and your work with the Houston Chronicle. Of course, you can find all of my stories on HoustonChronicle.com.
You can also find me on X at Danielle underscore learn. Hey, Danya, thank you so much. You get some rest, okay? All right, thanks, Shars.
